Pierre-Dominique Debartzch (September 22, 1782 – September 6, 1846) was a lawyer,

seigneur ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (or ...

, newspaper owner and political figure in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

. He was born in

Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu is a municipality in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the Richelieu River The Richelieu River () is a river of Quebec, Canada, and a major right-bank tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises at Lake Champla ...

in 1782, the son of a merchant of Polish descent, and studied at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

. He articled in law with

Denis-Benjamin Viger Denis-Benjamin Viger (; August 19, 1774 – February 13, 1861) was a 19th-century politician, lawyer, businessman in Lower Canada. He was a leader in the ''Patriote'' movement. Viger was part of the militia in the early 19th century and th ...

and was called to the bar in 1806. Debartzch was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of el ...

for

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in 1809 and again in 1810. He supported the

parti canadien The Parti canadien () or Parti patriote () was a primarily francophone political party in what is now Quebec founded by members of the liberal elite of Lower Canada at the beginning of the 19th century. Its members were made up of liberal pro ...

. Debartzch was a captain in the militia and led a company at the

Battle of Châteauguay The Battle of the Chateauguay was an engagement of the War of 1812. On 26 October 1813, a combined British and Canadian force consisting of 1,530 regulars, volunteers, militia and Mohawk warriors from Lower Canada, commanded by Charles de Sal ...

. In 1814, he was named to the Legislative Council. In 1815, Debartzch married Josette, the daughter of legislative councillor Charles de Saint-Ours and Josette Murray, whose great-uncle was former governor James Murray. In 1822, he helped lead opposition to a plan to unite Upper and Lower Canada. He purchased the seigneury of Saint-François (also known as Saint-Charles) in 1826. He founded the newspaper '' L'Écho du pays'' in 1833 and then ''Le Glaneur'' in 1836. He served on the Executive Council from 1837 to 1841. In 1841, Debartzch bought the seigneury of Cournoyer. He died at Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu in 1846 and was buried at Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu. His maternal uncle

Hyacinthe-Marie Simon, dit Delorme Hyacinthe-Marie Simon dit Delorme (August 15, 1777 – March 13, 1814) was a seigneur and political figure in Lower Canada. He represented Richelieu in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada from 1808 to 1814. His name also appears as Hyaci ...

also served in the legislative assembly. His daughter Josette-Elmire married

Lewis Thomas Drummond Lewis Thomas Drummond (May 28, 1813 – November 24, 1882) was a Quebec lawyer, judge and political figure. He was born in Coleraine, County Londonderry, Ireland in 1813. His father, an attorney, died while he was young and he came to Lower ...

and his daughter Louise-Aurélie married

Alexandre-Édouard Kierzkowski Alexandre-Édouard Kierzkowski (November 21, 1816 – August 4, 1870) was a civil engineer and political figure in Canada East. Life He was born as Aleksander Edward Kierzkowski in the Grand Duchy of Poznań (now in Poland) and joined the P ...

. His daughter Caroline married lawyer Samuel Cornwallis Monk; their son Frederick Debartzch Monk later served in the Canadian House of Commons. His daughter Margueritte-Cordelia married Édouard-Sylvestre de Rottermund, a chemist and inventor.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Debartzch, Pierre-Dominique 1782 births 1846 deaths Harvard College alumni Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada People from Montérégie